Monday, July 6, 2009

Tribune Co., Ricketts family reach deal

The Tribune is reporting that a deal has been reached between its parent Tribune Co. and the Ricketts family regarding the sale of the Cubs. It will be nice when this storyline disappears and the Cubs can enter the regular world of having stable, defined ownership. Hopefully this is one of the last hoops the two sides have to jump through before it is decided.

With the courts being involved, as well as the owner approval process, it would seem the sale is a long way from actually being completed. However, with a concrete idea of the future ownership in place I would imagine Hendry could contact the Ricketts family and have some more flexibility in taking on payroll at the trade deadline.

I think that is a non-issue though, because the likelihood of the Cubs adding a player that would significantly increase payroll is very low. Jake Peavy still seems unrealistic, and with the emergence of Randy Wells, not needed. 2B and bullpen are the top priorities in my mind, and both of those positions can probably be improved on the cheaper side.